Princess Who of Where
by saiyankiyse
Summary: The Kylarian empire, a race of bestial shape shifters, lost its heir during an attempted coup. Bulma adopted and raised by humans knows nothing of her past. To learn of her origin, she sets of on a journey giving her more than she bargained for
1. Prologue: Where It All Began

This story is actually been adapted from another story I wrote about totally different people, in a totally different place, but I thought it would be good as a B/V A/U. I don't want any complaints about how people are behaving or how I've "altered" characters abilities or anything else. If you don't like it, don't read it. I repeat _**THIS IS AN A/U!!!!!**_ Now, for the first time ever, I gladly present…………

Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBall Z. Last I checked, it was owned by Akira Toriyama and anyone else he legally allowed use of his wonderful story.

On the world of Kylaria thrived many distinctively different peoples. Most of the world's landmasses separated by large bodies of water the either could not be crossed or were chosen not to be crossed. On one such land lived a mighty race of warriors of the fiercest kind for they were not ordinary people, but of the kind who were very much of the wild. These people had long ago evolved from the beasts of the forest into civilized humans. However, during this evolution they did not discard their bestial forms, but learned to revert to them at will. And so they became a race of shape shifters, which ranged from creatures of all kinds. Each creature was limited from its true form to its human one, except for one. There was a line that was able to shift to the form of any creature. An ability developed over the years through careful breeding. It was from these few that the Royal Family came about. They were the fiercest warriors, the swiftest hunters, and the most intelligent humans. For many thousands of years, they lived in peace, until those came who believed they were better than Royal Family. A battle soon began and though the current King and Queen were the most beloved in all of their history, there were still those who thought they could rule the kingdom better. And so our story begins with our king preparing to return to the battlefront after the birth of the Heir.

"Please my love, I beg you do not leave us!", the blue-haired beauty pleaded to the handsome warrior. "I truly fear for your safety if you return to battle!" Though she desperately wanted to cry she would at least not show the weakness of tears. She had been having nightmares for weeks that if her husband returned to fight in the war that had been ravaging their borders for the past few months that this time he would not return. She wouldn't tell him about the dream though. He would just dismiss it as a female's hysterics from all the hormones from the pregnancy.

"I have already told a thousand times that everything will be fine. Have not our own people declared me the strongest of our warriors?" The man told her in an effort to comfort her. His clear, silver eyes regarded her hopelessly. He knew that his mate wouldn't be satisfied unless he stayed, and that he could not do.

"That's only because I cannot go. You know that if I had not been expecting our child that it would have been me and not you out there!" The females of their people were the greatest warriors. Kylarian Queens were known to be the fiercest and most skilled warriors. It was the Queen who was primary ruler of the kingdom and it was through the daughters that everything was inherited. "I wish that this stupid was had happened at some other time!"

The king's blue-black ears were perked forward in concern. He didn't want her to further indulge in a fit of temper and sought to soothe her. The queen's short temper was already infamous, though her reign had only spanned half a millennium. The king could not understand why she was so upset. She knew that he was extremely competent and would make sure that the war was decided in their favor. Being a typical male he didn't take her seriously because he thought she was still worked up from all the extra hormones left over from being pregnant, it was either that or one other thing…………

"If you are upset because I will not be here for our daughter's Naming Day, then you should calm yourself. You know that you do not truly need me here. The king is only present for show. You'll be the one doing everything important while I just stand there and smile and smile and smile some more until my face hurts. However, I do want to be present if I can. This is our first child and I do not want to miss it. If I have to use Instant Transmission to get here I will."

The queen was not really satisfied with that at all. While it was true that she wanted her mate here for something as important as their daughter's Naming Day, it wasn't the only, or even the most important reason that she wanted him to stay. She really didn't want to give up the argument. Ordinarily, an argument of this kind of importance would have lasted for hours, but being that she had only just an hour ago delivered the kingdom's next queen, she was completely and totally exhausted and even now felt the last of her energy slipping from her.

She sighed and just laid back down, feeling her eyes growing heavier after each passing moment. "Just be sure to return to me………to us."

She reached out to brush away a lock of hair that threatened to obscure his eyes. His hair was as soft as silk and as dark as a raven's wing. Normally, he kept it tied back away from his face, but today it hung free, reaching a little past his shoulders. The females of the Kylarian court often sighed with envy that the queen had such a mate and many wished that they hadn't chosen to mate for life. Most Kylarians did, but in no way was it required. A fair number of Kylaria's population changed mates every year or at least until they produced young. The pair would then part ways amicably after coming to an agreement on how to provide for their young until they could make it on their own.

"You know I will. Nothing could ever tear me away from the women I love." And with that he leaned over and kissed her forehead and after pulling back to look at her, he saw that she had already fallen asleep. He kissed her again before getting up from the edge of the bed and walking over to the cradle of their daughter who was being watched over by a female so ancient that she had done the same service for the queen's grandmother. He watched the tiny infant sleep with her hands fisted and her small, sharply pointed ears laid flat against her head. At birth, the Royal Family Pattern stood out in sharp relief to the rest of her softly, downy coat. Her aqua blue down would soon shed to the velvety fur that would cloak her for the rest of her life. Not many doubted that she would acquire her mother's aqua blue hair and even deeper blue stripes that denoted one as having royal blood. It had been quite a debate whether the cub, who as then hadn't been born, would take on its sire's dark handsomeness or its mother's exotic beauty. He looked to the old female, who even now rocked the cub's cradle gently with the tip of her own tail. "Baba, keep the both of them safe while I am gone."

The ancient female nodded her head slightly. Her thinning white hair tied away from her face with a scarf of traditional Royal Family colors of green and gold. Her clothing was the same as any other servant's. She wore coarse spun full length brown skirt with a slightly lighter top was as immaculate as ever. Baba cackled softly, "You know that I could do no less, Your Highness. They were in my care long before they were in yours, so I know what needs doing. I would lay down my life for either of them."

His mate and child could have no more faithful servant than her. He felt he left them in the best possible care. He turned away with his cloak and tail swishing behind him and left without looking back, knowing he would not go if he did so, he would not be able to leave.

One Week Later

"Oh, Baba look! She's smiling!" The young queen held her tiny cub in the air above her, much to the child's delight.

"Indeed she is, my lady." Baba replied with the look of a proud grandmother. "She will be a great beauty, just like her mother and her grandmother before her." She smiled at the young queen who she had given so much of her time to raise. Her mother, the previous queen, hadn't much time to spend with her daughter because of the overwhelming duties. That had left Baba, who had no children of her own, to care for the girl. All of her love and hard work paid off. The female who stood beside her was kind-hearted, fair, and exceedingly wise for one so young. Actually, the only thing that could be said negatively of the queen was that she possessed a short and fierce temper. However, she seemed to be able to save it for those who irked her most. Rumors of her beauty had drawn more competitors to the Suitor's Tournament than ever known. Even with the Tournament against her, she had managed to choose an excellent mate, who of course, won the tournament. And now, 500 years into their reign, the two had brought forth the perfect, little angel who had bred true into her mother's good looks.

Now though, the queen was all smiles and laughter. She glowed in the sun-drenched nursery. She was gowned in a cream colored velvet with gold lace underskirts peeking out from beneath the hem. More of the same lace bordered the edge of the low, square neckline. The puffed sleeves were slashed to show more gold. She hugged her cub close, the love radiating from them like warmth from the sun.

The queen smiled brightly pleased with the compliment from her old nurse. "Honestly, Baba! You need to stop filling my head with such things or soon I will not be able to fit my head through even the great doors of the Throne Room."

"Well, I only tell you the truth, my lady. Even your own people believe it to be true. Have you seen how those that may are gathering below in the city?" The both walked out to balcony to watch just that. The city below was full of more activity than usual as every citizen who was not occupied by the battle going on at their borders had began arriving 2 days ago for the Naming Day of the new princess. The people below sparkled with color, light and sound. Occasionally, a winged creature would fly pass the balcony offering their congratulations. The queen thanked all the passersby, while the infant princess just gurgled and cooed at them. Soon all the excitement' wore out the little one out and she fell asleep, her little tail wrapped around her mother's wrist. Her mother and nurse returned inside after they too, tired of watching and placed the cub back in her cradle.

"I hope she has a happy life, Baba." The queen said as she looked at her sleeping child. For some reason, she began to have an ill feeling again, but couldn't place her finger on why. She walked over to her old nurse, who had already sat to rest herself. Baba looked very, very old and worn out at that moment; she had raised two queens in her lifetime and may possibly live long enough to raise another. The queen had repeatedly asked her to retire, but she wouldn't hear of it always using the excuse that no one could care for them better than she could. The nursery staff alone was almost as large as a small battalion. There were women who only bathed the infant, those who only fed her, those who only washed her napkins, those who fed her…it was infinite. Anything that the cub could possibly need was provided for, but Baba still insisted on being there and in truth, she was the one who directed the staff.

"I am sure she will with you and her sire to provide such good examples for her to follow. And someday, she will find her true love and marry him to rule after your graces step down."

The queen sighed. She hope that things would turn out that way, but then the feeling that something bad was going to happen struck her again. She decided to continue ignoring it, hoping it was nothing but the anxiety of being a new parent. "Baba, please go and rest. Send one of the other nurses in to watch over the baby while she is sleeping. "

"But, my lady, I assure you that I am fine. I am not tired at all, I-,"

"I won't hear it. Do not make me order you to go rest", the young queen told her sternly.

"Yes, my lady." said Baba. She bowed from the room and sent one of the younger nursemaids in with the infant princess. The queen was right. She was exhausted, but she would never admit it. This would be the last queen she would ever see. She lived a very long and fulfilling life seeing more years of peace that most people could hope for. All would remain well, she was sure. She then went to her own room, which was not at all far from the Royal Nursery.

When the nursemaid arrived the queen left explicit directions with her to come fetch her when the cub awakened. She then walked down the hall in the opposite direction Baba had taken to the Royal Apartments. She really hated sleeping alone in that large bed, but she knew she needed to rest as well. She really missed her mate and she was hoping that he would be able to come home for their child's Naming Day tomorrow.

The guard standing at the door to the Royal Apartments was male. Raven, the female who normally held that place, had gone with her mate to fight. The young male was attentive and saluted the queen sharply before opening the door to the chamber within.

The queen locked the door behind her and just stood there staring at the room blankly. The usual shades of green and gold greeted her in the sitting room. From the pale gold of the walls to the forest green brocade curtains framing the windows of the balcony to the greenwood tables inlaid with designs of pure gold mined right here in Kylaria, absolutely everything around her reminded her of the duty she had to her people. She would have given anything to born into a simple life. As long as she had her mate and her cub, there would be no need for the excessive opulence that surrounded her day and night.

At a loss for anything else to do, she sought her private journal and sat down at her small writing desk to record her thoughts of the past few days. With all of the excitement stemming from the birth of the Heir, she had been waking earlier than usual to feed her infant daughter and spend some time with her before she had to deal with her Councilors and Audiences for the day. She penned her happiness of becoming a mother, her frustration of having an absent mate, not to mention the reason of his absence. She described the plans for her daughter's Naming Day ceremony and finally ended the entry with the name she had chosen. She had spent her entire pregnancy considering male and female names, but knew she would have to wait for the cub's appearance to make a final decision. And following tradition, she hadn't told a soul what she had chosen.

She closed the goldenhide bound journal, satisfied, and found that she too could use a short nap. All too soon, someone would come requesting to see her over some ridiculously small matter. She decided on sleeping on one of the more comfortable looking couches in the sitting room. It was there that she fell asleep having disturbing dreams all afternoon.

Three Hours Later

The queen awoke to a furious pounding at her door. She rubbed at her eyes and went to the door as quickly as she could manage wondering what in the world could be so important for someone to cause such a racket. Just as she was about to open, she was overwhelmed by the feeling of dread that she had been having for the past week. It froze her in place for a moment and was only broken out of it by more banging on the door and people calling out to her.

"HIGHNESS!!! YOUR HIGHNESS!!!! PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR!!! The guards at the door yelled out to her.

She unlocked the door and snatched it open as fast as she could manage. "What is it? What's going on?"

"Your Highness, the palace is being attacked! We don't know how they got here so quickly, but with so many out at the battlefront it will be a matter of moments before they get inside! We must hurry and get you and the princess out of here to safety!" he reported to her from a kneeled position, nearly shaking from his all too palpable fear and anxiety.

"I don't understand how this could have happened? Why were we not alerted sooner?" She almost panicked, but knew she couldn't. She had to hold herself together and lead her people through this. Her first thought, though, was of her child. "My baby? Where's my baby? Tell me they haven't penetrated this far yet?" Just then there was a large crash from somewhere inside the palace.

"My lady we must hurry! It sounds as if they have broken down the great doors at the entrance! We must hurry!" and with that he unceremoniously began pulling the queen down the hall to the Royal Nursery, but it was then that she finally got her head together and she pulled out of his grasp and quickly surpassed him in reaching the nursery, her swishing skirts the only sounds of her passing. She bust in the doors to a room full of guards and cowering maids. After the guard who fetched her came in the room she slammed the doors shut behind him and began to barricade the doors easily moving furniture that an ordinary human woman of her stature would never be able to push, much less lift and toss at the door.

"Quickly! We must keep them from getting in here! Barricade the doors!" Finally after getting some exact directions everyone began doing as the queen was and it was none too soon for the very pounding they heard coming from outside was soon at the nursery doors.

"We must defend the Queen and Princess!" The commander of the guards shouted. "We must have a team to get them out as well as one to defend here! I must have volunteers quickly for we don't have much time until they break through these doors!" And at that very moment some of the furniture barricading the doors began to splinter.

"NO!!!! I will remain here to personally lead you!!!" Many of the people in the room protested loudly, but the queen cut that off quickly. "SILENCE!! YOU WILL DO AS I COMMAND!" The queen then chose at that moment to rip off the elaborate skirts and petticoats she wore, baring her legs and showing her defiantly swishing tail that was covered by fur the same color as her hair. "We will protect the Princess! Baba!"

The ancient nursemaid stepped forward holding the still sleeping infant who was blissfully unaware of all the noise going on around her. "Baba, I need you to do something for me."

"Anything, my lady. I live only to serve you." She bowed to the queen. The first time in the young queen's whole life that the elder woman truly showed subservience to her.

As calmly as possible she says, "I want you to take my daughter and go as far away from here as you possibly can. I know it has probably been many years since you have used Instant Transmission and that it may wear you incredibly, but I need to be sure that the both of you will be safe until this is over. You are the only one that I completely trust with a task such as this."

"But, I… yes, my lady." She bowed to the queen again. She couldn't believe that the queen wanted such extreme measures taken, but then, she probably would have done the same thing under similar circumstances.

The nursery door at that moment edged open and their enemy began entering one by one and at a time. Guards and nursemaids unlike began taking on their natural forms facing the enemy without hesitation. The young queen quickly pulled Baba to the back of the nursery. "You must go quickly!" She looked down into her daughter's eyes that had only just opened. "Be safe, my little one." She kissed her forehead and began to pull herself away. The fight was pushing closer and closer, their enemy being far more numerous than they were.

"My lady, what is her name?" Baba yelled over the noise of the battle being fought before her.

"Her name is- ", but that was all she got out before one got pass the others tore out to get a swipe at the queen. In the blink of an eye, the queen had transformed into her greatest form, that of the dragon. She shredded her attacker with little effort. The queen turned to Baba.

"GO!!!", she roared at her.

That was the last thing the young queen ever said to Baba as Baba disappeared with a small twinkling of light.

Okay. That was the end of the prologue. Please read and review.


	2. Growing Pains

14 years later

The sun rose over the treetops, bringing day light to the village built within the trunks of the forest giants. Each tree supporting up to three homes, one on top of the other. Some of the inhabitants now going about their daily chores using the suspended walkways between trees or by climbing down to the ground to tend gardens, go out to hunt, or to fetch water from a nearby stream. Those who scouted and guarded the perimeter of their village in the evening were now trading places with those who covered the day shift.

"OOOHHHHH! I am so tired of this!" Bulma stomped out of her home, grabbing her bow and a quiver full of arrows on her way out of the door. She fearlessly leapt from the balcony of her house, which was nearly three stories from the ground and landed on her feet gracefully. She whipped her long, aqua-colored braid back over her shoulder and stalked off into deeper parts of the forest where she had her own patrol. She was angry, but was careful to move through the forest soundlessly as a lion stalking its prey. This morning she had had another argument with her parents about the same thing they had been arguing about the past year. She knew that the man and woman who raised her were not her birth parents. If the ears and tail were not a give away, then surely ability to take on the form of any animal was. By the standards of the people whose culture she'd grown up in, she was a woman grown, which meant that she was old enough to bond, old enough to have children, and surely old enough to make her own decisions! All she wanted to do was go out into the world and try to find out about HER people. After all she couldn't possibly be the only one of her kind that existed. Even her father told her that the woman's body that they had found her beside when she was a baby also possessed some obviously animalistic attributes. Deep down she wished to find her real parents, not that anything was wrong with her adopted parents, but she wanted to know more about the mysterious man and woman who sent her away from them. Did they not want her? Or was it possible that she was kidnapped? Or even that something happened to them and that she was placed into the old woman's care? Bulma had no clue. All she knew was that she was different from everyone else and that sometimes made things hard on her. Even though she was a mostly solitary person, every once in a while she longed for some company. Most of the other young people her age didn't want to have anything to do with her. That's why being a scout fit so well into her life. It was a one person job. The only person she saw on a regular basis was her best friend, Goku.

"Hey Bulma! Wait up!" she heard an amused tenor call from behind her.

It was almost as if she thought him up. She turned and gave a smile to her best friend who was running to catch up with her and making as much noise as humanly possible. Goku learned a long time ago that it was best not to sneak up Bulma. She almost tore out his throat the first time he did it and it only took about two or three more similar encounters before he learned to make enough noise so that she knew he was coming.

"Hey Goku! How's it going?" She was always happy to see him no matter what kind of mood she was in. He always cheered her up and when she was in a truly bad mood, he usually stuck around and obliviously dealt with her attitude as if she hadn't said a thing to him. "I heard you had some trouble with a pack of wild boar the other day."

"Aw, it was nothing really," he said while scratching his head sheepishly, not wanting to meet her eyes. "It wasn't really a big problem. They had just moved into the territory of some deer and I was able to herd most of the boar back to where they had come from except for two of them….."

Bulma started laughing. She had already heard the story the day before, but wanted to hear it straight from the source.

"It's not funny! I can't help that it was a breeding pair!" It was the indignant expression on his face that caused her to fall to the ground laughing. Sometimes Goku got a little flustered when faced with adult situations. She had first hand knowledge in that. They had been each other's "first", so she knew how awkward he could become when he wasn't sure what to do. "All I COULD do was sit there and wait until I could move them!" Bulma was nearly in tears. Trust Goku to brighten her day. After she caught her breath, she began walking again. After all she was supposed to be patrolling, not socializing.

"Goku, you are the only one I know that ends up in situations like that."

Bulma extended her claws and latched on to the tree nearest and climbed faster than a squirrel to some of the highest branches. She spied around from her vantage point to see if there was anything going on worth her interest. The rest of the forest was as quiet as ever, with the exception of the usual sounds of wildlife. She was surrounded by forest in all directions except the east where after about a furlong, the forest abruptly gave way to a path heading down into a valley. The few people that traveled to and from her village always went that way to travel to other villages to trade some of their goods. Bulma herself had only been there once when she was very small. She thought it a very odd place. There were so many people living there. Most of them stayed in the shops and homes along the streets. It was a market day on the day her family went there, so the place was busy with many people. It was loud and smelly and crowded. Her poor, over-sensitive senses were sorely punished that day. Her parents couldn't understand what was wrong with her because they weren't even half as sensitive as she was. She eventually gave up trying to explain her discomfort and just suffered through the rest of the day. She refused to return there since.

These days though, something seemed to be drawing her in that direction. Bulma quickly shook off all thoughts of the valley and continued scanning in every direction. She didn't expect any, but a change of pace would be nice. Even Goku had more interesting things happen to him.

"Sooo…." Goku began, breaking her concentration. "Had another argument with your parents, huh?"

"It's nothing new." Bulma said nonchalantly.

She was closer to him than she was to any of her brothers. Maybe it was because they had sworn to be blood sibs when they were little. It almost seemed like they could hear and sense each other's thoughts and feelings without even trying. Bulma could never figure out how he always knew what was going on in her life. Sometimes he acted like a complete idiot, but he was a lot more perceptive than everyone thought.

"I think you should just go ahead and move out. Hey! You could move in with me!" Bulma looked out of the corner of her eye at her best friend. He stood down there with a big stupid grin on his face. She wondered what kind of idea he had in his head. It had been a while since they had shared a bed being that they both discovered others more suited to their personalities.

"I don't know…."

"Aww, come on! It'll be fun! We can have whoever we want there for as long as we want. We could stay out all night." Goku tried to persuade her.

"Hmph. I can do that now if I really wanted to."

"Okay. Or maybe you can just leave and go look for your people without anyone telling you that you can't go." Bulma's head snapped around to look full on at Goku. He still had a big grin on his face. She had the feeling that this was just what he was leading up to and then found herself grinning back at him.

"Why, good sir, did we not think of that before?" Bulma's heart was beginning to pound so hard in her chest that she thought she'd fall out of the tree. That was all she had to do was move out and they wouldn't be able tell her what to do anymore. She let out a shout of delight and leapt free of the tree and transformed smoothly into a bird. She could feel each feather sprout from her skin as her limbs shorted and fingers elongated and formed the webbing between the wings. Her mouth hardened into a beak while she began her first wing beats. She glided through the trees executing some impressive aerobatics while Goku watched, clearly impressed. Bulma landed on Goku's shoulder chirping excitedly.

She thought to Goku, _I am so excited! I haven't felt this sure about anything in a long time. I'm going to finish my patrol and then move all my stuff during the night. That way I'll be gone before they can even try to stop me!'_

"Alright then! I'll go home and get things ready."

_No. Don't go through too much trouble for me. Remember that I'm moving out so that I can leave and search for my people.'_

"Well, if you say so," Goku said while scratching his head with that completely bewildered expression that only Goku can achieve.

'_Don't worry about me. I'll be in shortly after mid night. I'll be finished by then and Oran will be ready to take over from me.'_

"Oh! I know you're more than capable of taking care of yourself."

Bulma took off from Goku's shoulder and flew up into some branches not too far over his head. She easily slid into a feline form with short, brown spiky hair and a weird mottled pattern in black on her back and forehead. (The coloring she had taken was for camouflage; naturally, she possessed a coat the same color as her hair.) The fangs and claws alone were enough to deter even the fiercest forest predator. She used those claws to begin her ascent up the tree.

_Of course I am,' she replied with a hint of laughter in her mind voice. I'll see you soon.'_

She climbed until she reached a branch of suitable size and walked as far to the edge as she could before jumping from that branch to the next tree. Goku trotted off back to their village, his passage nearly as silent as Bulma's. Bulma, however, had already stopped paying any attention to Goku. Her patrol held her thoughts unwaveringly for hours. Soon though, it began taking on a mindless pace. She was leaping from tree to tree without even noticing where she was going. After sunset, she left the trees to prowl on the ground. She found herself at the base of a tree that began as one tree, but somehow split and grew into two trees sharing the same base and roots. Nestled between two of the roots lay a grave; one would never know it was there unless they were looking for it.

Bulma approached the grave with all due respect and knelt a few feet away. It was here that Bulma was found almost 15 years ago, squalling for the entire world to hear. It was here that the occupant of this grave had passed on. Bulma's adopted father had found an infant Bulma in the arms of a barely living old woman. She lived long enough only to beg him to take the baby and care for her. _She will be needed one day,'_ were the words the old woman whispered with her final dying breath. Needed for what?' was Bulma's question to herself ever since her parents had explained how she had came to be with them. If she was going to be _needed'_, then why was she left out in the middle of nowhere with a dying old woman? Bulma was also told that the old woman also possessed some animal like attributes, which consoled Bulma that she wasn't some kind of misborn freak. That somewhere, there were probably others like her. Her village was a solitary one, so her knowledge of the outside world was limited, but she knew deep down that she wasn't the only one of her kind.

Bulma did wish for some kind of guidance in her life, so she came to this grave often. Whether it was for spiritual or divine intervention, she didn't care, as long as it was something clearer that what she had in mind. Unfortunately, she got no kind of clues, but it was very peaceful here. When she wanted to be alone this was the place to come. No one would follow her here. Not her family or Goku or any of her other friends. She stayed as long as she dared and then continued on her patrol not wanting to neglect her duties. She still continued her musings through the rest of her patrol. She often wondered why she just couldn't be happy being where she was. Life here wasn't terrible for her, in fact, it was rather pleasant. She dearly loved her adopted parents as if they had truly spawned her. She adored her father from whom she had gotten her initial teaching of the wild and had toddled after him as soon as she was able. She loved her mother though she was sure that her mother absolutely despaired of her ever learning to be a proper wife. Bulma wanted nothing to do with any sort of household chore and promptly disappeared if any came up. She also had four elder brothers who had also taken after their father and only recently had the last son mated and moved out to begin his own family.

Bulma could take a mate as they all had, begin a family, and take up a trade to help support that new family. She sighed out loud at that thought and simply thought it hopeless. It wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want to be in a pairing of convenience. All she would do is make some man unhappy with her loud and bossy ways. There was no man in the village who Bulma felt was even "man" enough to handle her. She easily cowed any male since the age of four. No. The place for her was not here. As she approached the edge of her patrol, she smelled Oran long before she saw him and nearly scared him witless when she dropped out of the tree in front of him.

"By the Mother Earth, Bulma! I nearly died of fright! I wish you wouldn't do that," Oran told her. He was a tall, lanky fellow of indeterminate features. He would easily blend into any crowd with his brown-haired, brown-eyed plainness.

Bulma changed back into her human form with her tail swishing idly behind her. She walked off without a backward glance. "Just trying to keep you on your toes. Just cause there haven't been any trespassers in a while is not excuse to relax you senses."

"Hmph."

She didn't care about his attitude. _I swear, he'll be the first one to let someone through',_ she thought to herself. She didn't deign to even respond to that childish temperament, she merely continued on her way home.

It was already pretty late for most people and indeed all she could hear about the village were crickets and a few other night sounds. She sank her natural claws into the tree her family lived in and scurried up it and climbed into her bedroom window. She decided her bedroom window was less intrusive that the front door and she had a better chance of moving most of her stuff out without her parents waking by going that way. Of course it was going to be very difficult, but if anyone could pull it off, it was her.

She was soon tapping at Goku's door with her first load. She knocked more out of courtesy and warning than to actually gain permission to come in. She knew she was welcome at Goku's house at any time of day or night. She had to tap again before he actually answered the door.

"Oh...Bulma...", YAWN, "it's...you," was all he could get out before she was shoving her way through the door.

"How could you forget I was coming? I was expecting you to be up." Bulma wanted to yell at him, but it was a little too late for that, so she just whispered at him in a menacing tone.

YAWN. "Sorry. Aura...came by and we were a little...busy...," again with the sheepish look.

Bulma looked ready to pound him. Ever since he discovered the wonder of girls', he could become rather single-minded when one had his attention. "Well, now that you've had your fun...come help me!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Goku yawned again into his home to get dressed. They were back and Bulma's parent's house in no time. Goku waited the next tree over, while Bulma returned to her room they way she had left earlier and was carrying things over to where Goku waited. He would then wait until she brought out a good number of her belongings before carrying them back to his place. Bulma was, as always, surprised at the amount of stuff Goku could carry. There wasn't another man in the village even half as strong as Goku. It was a mystery to everyone.

They were a little more than halfway finished when they got an unexpected visitor. Both had heard the approaching footsteps long before they appeared, but knowing that there was no way to hide the stuff they had piled up, they stood their ground hoping that it was someone who would mind their own business. Unfortunately, luck wasn't with them.

"Well, what do we have here?" asked the unwelcome male, who bore a striking resemblance to Goku.

"Beat it, Radditz. This is none of your concern," Bulma nearly growled at him.

Radditz was Goku's older brother. Both men look exactly like their father, so it was given that they would look like each other. The main difference was their hair, Radditz wore his a lot longer than Goku, and they completely different personalities. Goku was all sunshine and laughter, while Radditz reeked of pettiness and jealously. As long as the two friends had known each other, Radditz had been jealous of their friendship. He felt that whatever Goku had, he should have too, and in his eyes that included Bulma.

"Of course I should be concerned. My dear little brother and his best friend are out late at night skulking around with a pile of things at their feet that probably don't belong to them," Radditz said suggestively.

"Oh, please, Radditz. You know that neither of us would steal anything," Goku told him.

"So you say." He circled around the pair finally stopping at Bulma's side. He had this indescribable look in his eyes, that almost made Bulma back away, but her pride and her temper wouldn't let her. She straightened up to her full height and glared menacingly at Radditz.

"I think it's about time for you to go," she warned him.

"Yeah, Radditz," Goku added. "Won't Mother be looking for you?"

Radditz nearly turned red at the question. It was rather embarrassing that he still lived at home with his parents because no female would have him and he was too irresponsible to keep up his own place.

"Shut up, Kakkorot!" he yelled at Goku, calling him by his proper first name.

"Don't call me that!" Goku yelled back.

"Both of you BE quiet!" Bulma whispered to both of them as loud as she could. "Do you want the entire village to wake up?" Neither male made another sound, they just glared at each other over the mountain of Bulma's belongings.

Bulma herself wasn't going to bear witness to this staring competition and instead began to collect some of the items at her feet. Unfortunately, her perpetually waving tail grabbed Radditz's attention and he seemed to think it was a good idea to grab it. Bulma nearly howled at the acute pain that went through and quickly snatched it away. Before anyone could blink twice, she shoved Radditz at the railing and watched him flail as he almost went over. Nearly because Bulma grabbed a fistful of his tunic before he could fall. She held him there, teetering on the edge about to indulge in a fit of tears he was so scared.

"Don't let me go!" he squealed.

Bulma growled in response.

"Please?" he begged, the salty liquid beginning to course down the sides of his face since he was on the rail on his back.

"I think he's learned his lesson, Bulma," Goku put in for his brother, trying his hardest not to laugh. He knew Bulma wouldn't let him go, but it was still amusing to watch his elder brother think that she was.

"Fine," she spat out. "But only because you asked, Goku."

She hauled Radditz back over the railing and let him slide to the floor, trying his hardest to hide his face, so they wouldn't see the tears that they knew he cried.

"I think it's time for you to go home," Bulma ordered him, not requested.

He looked up at her from his seat and nodded his head so hard that Bulma thought it was going to fall off. He scrambled to his feet and trotted off before he could be tortured anymore.

"I haven't had any good entertainment like that in months," Goku laughed.

"Well, he needed to learn that he can't just put his hands on me whenever he feels like it," Bulma told him.

"I'm sorry that he just won't take a hint and leave you alone."

Bulma waved the apology off. "I told you a long time ago not to apologize for your brother's idiocy. It's a waste of breath. You'll end of spending half of your life apologizing for his actions."

"You're probably right."

"Of course I'm right. Now come on and let's get this stuff to your place before someone else comes along and I actually let them go."

It was nearly sunrise before they finished moving and organizing things. Bulma fell asleep on a pile of pillows, as was her habit, knowing that no one would miss her at home for at least two days.

All she could think as she drifted off to sleep was, "Wow………...that was easy……..."


	3. The Long Road to Discovery

DISCLAIMER: From here forward, the disclaimer on the prologue covers all chapters.

Bulma couldn't believe her luck! Not only hadn't her parents yelled and complained at her, they actually liked the idea of her moving out on her own. Parents... go figure. A week had already passed and life couldn't be better. The freedom was almost intoxicating. No one told her where to go or what to do (except the scout leader). Bulma couldn't help berating herself a little for not doing this much sooner.

Even now, she was putting a pack together so she could leave in the morning to begin her search. The excitement was fueling her energy and she had been working relentlessly since dawn this morning to be ready to leave tomorrow morning. Her parents had expressed slight disapproval in the idea, but like moving out, they most left her alone about. Just then someone tapped at the door. It was Goku.

"Bulma how's the packing going?"

"So far, so good. I mostly have everything I need condensed into one pack."

"I see," Goku said skeptically, "but where are you going to pack your food at? There isn't any room in that pack for even an apple!"

He poked around her packs as if he was going to find a secret food compartment. Bulma laughed. Trust Goku to think of food before anything else.

"I don't need to carry food. I can kill for meat and I am more than capable of foraging for greens being that I can tell the difference between what's poisonous and what's not."

"Still..."

"I also don't have to eat every other hour."

"But what if hunting isn't good on a particular day or it's raining, or you get hurt and you can't hunt, or ..."

"GOKU PLEASE! You're starting to sound as bad as my parents do. I don't know why you're getting so panicky all of a sudden."

"I'm just use to having you around is all and I don't want anything to happen to you."

Bulma's attitude instantly softened. She went to Goku and hugged him tightly with the threat of tears glistening in her eyes. "Nothing is going to happen to me. Don't worry."

Bulma shivered as two raindrops splattered simultaneously on her nose and back. It had been raining for nearly six hours and after being sucked down into the mud more times than she could count and finding tree branches far too slippery to be leaping from one to the other, she chose a branch that provided as much shelter as possible and prepared to wait it out. She was fortunate that she wasn't lying in the mud. Instead, she was lying high above the ground in her natural form, trying to use some of her water shedding abilities to keep from becoming soaked.

So far she wasn't having too much luck on either staying dry or tracking down any information. She had only been through two small villages and they weren't very helpful. She couldn't outright just ask, "Hey, anyone know where I can find shape shifters?" People would look at her like she was crazy.

The rain suddenly began to let off and the sun began to peek through the clouds. Bulma stood up on the branch and shook all the water free of her outer coat, leaving it fluffed until it dried fully, and made her way down the tree. The sky had cleared to a brilliant blue that matched her fur with only a few harmless looking clouds and the sun blazing in its full glory. Bulma ran to where she stored her pack at in a secure dry spot in another tree and changed back to her human form and shrugged it on. She knew that the next village was much larger than the others she had been to, maybe she could learn something more there. It was only another couple of hours away so she was sure that she would reach it just before sunset, which would be just enough time to take a quick look around and get the lay of the place. She would then return to the nearest wooded area and return in the morning. This was pretty much how she always worked and so far she hadn't seen a reason to change it.

Arriving when she anticipated, she was greeted by a larger village than expected. In fact, it was the largest village she had ever been to in her life. The sign at the crossroads that she had began to follow after the rain shower said that it was called Saginaw. It was easily a small town and Bulma was hard pressed to keep the look of awe off of her face. At the edge of the town were the small single story cottages that she was more familiar with, but as she walked deeper into the heart of the town, a great deal of the structures were two and three stories high. Bulma noticed that most of them were shops, taverns, and other businesses. She then later learned that the height of buildings was due to the fact that most of the owners lived above their establishments.

There were also more people than she expected and with it being late in the evening, this probably wasn't even half the population. After completing a full pass through the town, she turned to head back to the woods. She had already been there later than she wanted to and the only people that were out now were drunks, prostitutes, and those whose work couldn't be done during the rush of the daytime hours. Bulma was then walking past one of those taverns, with a few men playing dice outside. She knew they were there, but didn't give them any more attention other to note their location. Just when she had completely walked by one of them grabbed her arm.

"Why don't cha cum here shugar and gie us a kiss?" He was a dirty, greasy looking man who smelled as if he hadn't had a bath in months. His ragged clothing looked as if it had seen better days and the cap on his head covering his oily looking hair looked as if moths had been using it as their personal restaurant.

"I don't think so," Bulma said, her voice full of venom.

His hold tightened on her arm and pulled her close enough that the smell of the cheap ale he had been drinking was enough to make her sick. He was quite obviously drunk, but that was no excuse. "Really? What's a lil girl like you gon do bout it?"

That was all Bulma had been waiting for. She came across his face with her left fist, which instantly freed her arm from his grip. Her pack slid from her shoulders to ground in the same movement that she dropped to the ground and kicked out her leg and spun to take his legs out from under him. He fell to the ground with a loud "Oomph!" and just lay there moaning, blood gushing from his nose. Bulma was certain it was broken, being that she felt a wet crack when she connected with his face. That's when his friends noticed what was going on.

"HEY! Tha lil gurl jus smashed Ranulf in his face! GET ER!" This was from a guy who was just as bad looking as "Ranulf" and a little more heavy set. The other two looked pretty terrible too. Bulma wasn't worried though. She had taken on more challenging fights than this.

The first one rushed her and she neatly clipped him and he fell headfirst into a rain barrel. It shattered when he hit it and he didn't get back up. His two friends looked to be a little more sober and thought out their plan of attack more thoroughly. They split up and tried to come at her from either side. It was obvious that they weren't too bright because it was just too easy for Bulma to just step back and watch them crash together and knock themselves unconscious. Bulma almost laughed until she noticed her tail had pulled free from her clothing and was swishing madly behind her almost as if it were ready to fight. She tucked it away before anyone could notice. Then she heard some dry applause coming from a single person leaning against a nearby wall. She had briefly noticed him standing in the shadows before the fight, but as long as he wasn't bothering or following her, she paid him no mind.

She looked him up and down. He was a slender fellow almost a full head taller than Bulma. He had a slender build and sharp facial features that reminded her of a fox. Even his hair was a reddish-brown of a fox. He more glided than walked over to her. His clothing was ordinary though far more neat and pristine than an ordinary peasant's. He was clean, TOO clean for someone hanging around his kind of area at this time of night. That set off an alarm in her mind and she knew instinctively that she would have to tread carefully around him.

"That was rather well done, young miss."

"Thanks," Bulma responded warily. Something in this guy's scent was odd, but she didn't know what it was.

"I'm afraid that the average young woman would have been in a very compromised position by now."

"Yeah, well, no one else was going to help me. I know how to take care of myself," she snapped.

"I can see that," he said with a smile, but his charming grin held no appeal for Bulma. There was something about him Bulma just didn't quite trust. "Be assured though, that had he had gone any farther with his unwanted attentions, I would have stepped in."

"I'm sure," Bulma replied sarcastically.

"No really. I know that I would hate to see my own mother or sister being harassed in such a way, so I try to help those in need who suffer from the absence of a male relative."

"Hmph. Okay, well, whatever. I need to be on my way." Bulma scooped up her pack and slid it back on. She turned and began to walk away.

"It's late and I see that you're still carrying your things. I you are in search of a place to stay, I'm afraid that there isn't anything to be had around here at this hour. If you are in need, I would be honored to offer my hospitality to a lovely lady such as yourself," he called out to her retreating form.

"No, thanks," Bulma answered shortly without a glance.

"I am called Nomaro. Might I at least know your name, miss?"

Bulma turned back around to look at him, considering his request. "Bulma." She said simply and continued on her way.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Miss Bulma."

"Yeah, whatever." She still kept walking. Even after she turned the next corner, he still stood there watching.

"Yes, a pleasure indeed." Nomaro said to no one but himself. He turned and walked into the shadows he had come from. A pair of glowing eyes watched him from the over hang of the shop, also cloaked in darkness.

"I think we've found what we're looking for, Nisbet. I wish immediate retrieval, so that we may leave this place."

"Yes, sir," the voice from the shadows replied. "Shall I use the regular methods?"

"Yes, but have a care. This one may possibly be more difficult than the others."

"I understand, sir." With that the darker spot within the shadows flew off into the darkness.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

ok, how was that. Who's this Nomaro guy and what's he got planned. And what's that thing in the dark going "retrieve".

And for those of you who don't know (and it's probably most of you) Saginaw is a type of Tie Rod End. Oh, and a tie rod is a steering part. A bad one can cause your wheel to vibrate or lose your wheel alignment.

In case you haven't noticed, I edited this at work where I sell car parts. Sorry.


	4. Caught Up

Bulma left the town quickly wanting to forget the whole episode, especially the meeting with Nomaro. There was something really strange about him. She was soon passing the outskirts of the town and heading for the surrounding forest. Just when she reached the edge, she realized someone was following her. She stopped and turned to scan the road behind her. There wasn't anyone there, but the feeling of being followed hadn't gone away. She stayed alert and entered the forest without incident. She heard the flapping of wings from the few night birds and bats above her. The silent forest was unnerving. A forest was never silent unless something or someone disturbed it. A younger Bulma would've ignored the feeling as nothing, but every time she did nothing good came of it.

She moved into deeper cover and changed into her natural form, complete with a dark, mottled coat to help conceal her location. She went from two legs to all four in order to stay better hidden. The low-lying brush would do more than the farther spaced apart trees. As soon as she found a thick enough clump of bushes, she wriggled under them. With a large tree behind her she could keep look out on all her remaining sides and also above. It was then that she heard wing beats. Loud ones…long, sweeping ones. Whatever was flying over was BIG. Bulma learned from a very young age that the more wing beats a flighted creature took, the larger it was.

She looked above hoping to get a glimpse of whatever was flying over and almost made a sound of alarm. There was a break in the tree canopy, with moonlight shining through brightly. It was Bulma's luck to see some THING passing directly over. It was HUGE. Her extremely sharp eyesight was not lying to her. The creature's body alone was at least twice the size of Bulma, not to mention its wingspan, which was quite considerable. After all, the wings would have to be gigantic to lift that thing even an inch off the ground.

Is that what's following me?

She prayed it wasn't, but was certain it was. More likely than not, it was some predator out for its evening meal and had chosen her for its main course. The wing beats had gotten faint until she couldn't hear them at all. She waited a few minutes more, debating with herself whether or not to come out from under the brush. When she finally decided to emerge, she heard a _whoosh_ of air through the treetops. Bulma looked to see the creature pass again, but this time lover. It was gliding this time and that's why she didn't hear it flapping.

For a moment, Bulma panicked. _I have to get out of here!_ She thought of her options. Flying was out: it would pick her off as soon as she broke free from the trees. She could go by ground: it would require intimate knowledge of this particular forest, which she didn't have. The only thing left was her favorite road of travel: through the treetops themselves. She scrambled up the tree and as soon as the creature made its pass, she leapt from one tree to the next, not even disturbing a leaf. She made two more jumps before it returned. She froze on the spot waiting until it was far away again. She made it through four trees this time before it came again. Her luck was finally changing. Again it passed and in mid leap, Bulma was snatched out of the air and pulled higher and higher.

Leaves and branches smacked at her relentlessly and she fought just to keep clear of them and when they finally flew high enough that there weren't anymore trees, Bulma got a good look at her captor.

"MY KAME!!!", was all she could say. It was a giant bat carrying Bulma clutched in its feet. Bulma squirmed trying to get away, but it wouldn't release the iron grip it had on her torso. She tried to scratch it, but that was no good either, as it just seemed to ignore her lacerations as nothing.

Finally, she just did what came naturally and changed. The biggest thing that popped into her mind was a bear and suddenly the creature was being dragged down by something it could never ordinarily carry. It shrieked all the way down, trying its hardest to keep itself in the sky. Bulma grabbed the creature and flipped them so that she would be above it. She changed back to her natural form just as they hit, the giant bat absorbing all of the impact. Bulma jumped off of it, making sure to be well clear of it before taking a good look at it.

It lay there still squeaking, partially conscious. It probably had broken quite a few bones, but she really didn't hold too much sympathy for it.

"Hah! That's what you get for messing with m-," Bulma didn't even see what hit her, but it hit hard and she slammed her head against a tree. Everything was black for a few minutes while she tried to get her senses together. The first was the feeling of pain that ran through her body especially her head. She felt the cold touch of metal around her neck and was slightly alarmed knowing that she didn't wear any type of jewelry. She wanted to lift her hand and touch it, but everything was starting to become visible now. She moved her head and everything was fuzzy and started to spin. That's when the waves of nausea began to come over her. It took all her left over strength not to retch the contents of her previous meal.

"Ah, look Nesbit, she's awake." She heard from not to far away. The voice was vaguely familiar even though it took her a minute to place it. She looked in the direction of the voice, but the sudden movement of her head caused everything to spin even more violently and she did lose her dinner.

"If you had been more acquiescent, you wouldn't be so sick about now. Head injuries cause nausea you know."

After a few more moments she was reduced to dry heaves and her vision quickly righted itself and she looked at the owner of the voice, shocked.

"NOMARO!"

"You remember me. I am so pleased," Nomaro replied in that too smooth way of his.

"What's going on here? Why did you attack me?"

"I? Attack such a fair person as yourself? How ridiculous! I'm afraid if anyone did any sort of attacking, that honor would belong to my servant here."

Bulma looked to see that the giant bat creature had righted itself. It stood there cowering as if it expected to be lashed out at.

"Nesbit, change yourself and show this young lady here what we're about."

Bulma started to say _what are you talking about?_, but somehow she knew what was going to happen. The giant bat's form started to shrink and condense himself, the wings drawing in to form arms, the legs and head became distinctive. The change continued until what clearly stood before her in the bat creature's place was a man.

"My Kame. Your...your...like...me." Bulma tripped over her words in amazement. Here she was looking for her own kind and here were two of them standing before her. Oh, yes. She knew now that Nomaro was one of them also. It was he, in his fox form, that tackled her and knocked her into the tree.

"Now you see."

"But...I don't understand what's going on?" She them remembered the unusual weight around her neck. She put her hand up to feel it. It was some sort of metal with what felt like jewels embedded in it. She grabbed at it trying to pull it free, but it didn't give. It was almost as if the thing were made specifically for her neck. She tugged again and again.

Nomaro stalked closer to Bulma as she futilely sought to remove the collar. "That's a waste of time you know. It won't come off without the proper...procedures."

"What are you talking about? Why are you doing this to me? I don't even know you!" She wailed knowing things had gone from bad to worse.

"Now please calm down. It wouldn't do at all if you were to harm yourself. The master would be most displeased to have to pass on a beauty such as you."

"WILL YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT??!!!" Bulma was to the point of hysterics she got to her feet and was ready to pound him to the ground like a tent peg. She advanced on him, fully intending to do just that.

"Ah, ah, ah." Nomaro used two of his fingers on his right hand to grab a ring on his ring finger of his left.

Bulma suddenly felt all the anger drain away and she stood before him docilely. For a moment, she forgot what she was angry about, but then it came back and she prepared to attack him again. This time she was going to shred him in her feline form. She tried to change...and found that she couldn't. She looked down at her hands and instead of paws and claws, she still saw slightly blunted fingers of her natural form covered with their usual aqua blue fur.

"What have you done to me?" She sank to the ground, lost.

"Do not worry. I have merely provided you with a little restraint. As long as you behave yourself, I will not coerce you further. However, one more outburst and you shall suffer the consequences with no explanation.

She didn't know what to do, other than she had to get out of this. She stayed in on the ground thinking that there had to be something she could do.

"Good. You should have gave in sooner and I wouldn't have had to take such measures. Now rise and follow me. We have a long journey ahead and-," He didn't get to say anything else Bulma had launched herself at him, determined to beat him and escape anyway.

He sensed her before she came anywhere close. He sighed before again touching the ring on his finger. Bulma dropped to the ground, stunned.

"I had not anticipated such a fight from her. I have forgotten that the females of our kind are rarely docile. No matter though. Nesbit! Come and carry her. We're leaving at dawn and I don't have time to fight with her anymore."

"Yes, sir." The servant scooped up the unconscious Bulma and followed his master.

"I think our Lord will be very pleased with his newest acquisition, don't you, Nesbit?"

"Sir, your taste is flawless. I'm sure Lord Vegeta will be very pleased."


	5. Chi Chi

Goku woke with a start from an already disturbed sleep. He had a dream that Bulma was in some sort of trouble. He got out of bed and went to his bathing room to wipe his face down with some cold water in an effort to clear his mind. He stared at his reflection in the mirror for a moment trying to decide whether it had a dream from nerves or a true vision. Some of his people had been known to have cases of premonition, the ability to see the future, or far sight, the ability to see things happening at great distances away.

He sighed, not truly knowing what to do. He had responsibilities here, but he also felt that he needed to be at his best friend's side as she sought the origins of her kind. He knew Bulma would have followed him anyway if their positions had been reversed. There would have been no argument he would've been able to come up with that would've kept her from his side.

Goku then knew what to do.

Bulma awoke moaning, her mouth dry, her stomach empty, and her head slightly throbbing. She was lying on her back and rolled onto her stomach attempting to fall back asleep, but the unfamiliar feel of the be beneath her was what snapped her into complete wakefulness. She sat up so fast that she nearly hit her head. She was lying on a silk covered bed surrounded by silk covered pillows. The bed had a canopy and even the sides were shielded with opaque silk curtains. And what was really weird about it was the bed was _moving_; moving in slow plodding steps as if it were being carried.

Bulma went to draw on of the curtains aside and was greeted by metal bars. She was inside of a cage! She grabbed the bars rattling them with all of her strength. They wouldn't budge and no one even came to see what the noise was all about. She watched the passing scenery, which wasn't much to look at. She was somewhere incredibly desolate. There weren't any trees or grass or water. Just the sun beaming down relentlessly, though Bulma couldn't feel the light directly due to the canopy and silk curtains.

The only place this could possibly was the Great Wasteland. But that was impossible. The Great Wasteland was at least a full moon-cycle away from home on horseback, and half a moon-cycle on the wing. She couldn't have possibly gone so far in so short a time. She couldn't have been sleeping so long...could she?

Bulma's anger boiled up at her lack of information and she began to rattle and shake the bars again in frustration.

"That's a waste of time you know." Bulma moved the curtain aside looked out the back of her cage clearly not expecting anyone to be there. She finally saw what was carrying the cage because surely the creature was carrying the cage behind her, a similar one was also carrying her own. It was huge with a gray wrinkly skin and a long nose that nearly reached the ground. It plodded along as if the cage on its back was nothing.

Lying in the cage was a dark-haired beauty. She reclined leisurely as if she wasn't caged up, as if she was there of her own choosing.

"Who are you? And where in the world are we?" Bulma asked the girl behind her.

"I am called Chi Chi and I'm not exactly sure where we are. I've never been in this part of the world before. What's your name?

"Bulma. Hey, is there anyway to get out of here?"

Chi Chi tossed her hair over her shoulder and laughed as if Bulma had just told the funniest joke she'd ever heard. "You cannot possibly be serious! Even if you were to get out of that cage, where would you go? There's nothing out there. There isn't even anywhere to hide."

"That's easy. I would just turn into a bird and fly away."

Again Chi Chi laughed at her. "Oh really? Try and change now."

Bulma tried to do just that and discovered that she couldn't. She tried again and again, but nothing happened.

"What's happened to me? Why can't I change?" Bulma asked her. "Wait! Why do you believe I can change form? How did you know?"

"Have you forgotten about that little trinket around your neck?"

Bulma unconsciously put her hand up to her neck. She felt the bejeweled collar around her neck and tugged at it slightly, already knowing it wasn't coming off.

"This is why I can't change."

Chi Chi tilted her head back to show a similar collar around her own neck. "That's how you knew." Bulma said somewhat in shock. "You're like me."

This time Chi Chi merely giggled. "Finally caught on, huh?"

Bulma scooted closer to the bars as if by doing so she would be able to hear better. "Tell me what you know of our people." Bulma pleaded with her.

Chi Chi looked to her with the strangest look in her eyes. "You don't know who, what you are?"

"No! I was found in the woods as an infant in the arms of a dying old woman of our kind. I was raised by ordinary humans. I know absolutely nothing of my, I mean our, people."

"Isn't that something." And with that she just looked away.

Bulma waited for the raven-haired girl, but she looked as if she were thinking something over. Here was someone who could tell her something and she was playing around.

"Please...tell me..."

Chi Chi's eyes slid back over to Bulma's. "You and I are Kylarians. We are people of a shape changing race as you've already learned."

"Kylarians," Bulma breathed, savoring the word in her mouth. "So our land is called..."

"Kylaria of course."

"Where is it? Is it large?""

"I believe it is somewhere far southeast from here. I'm not quite sure since I haven't gotten my bearings yet. And yes, it is a very large kingdom, even though very few populate it."

"Why's that?" Bulma asked.

"Silly girl! Aren't you yet a woman or surely you wouldn't be here? It is very difficult for Kylarian females to conceive, thus the lack of population."

"Oh." Bulma thought that over for a minute. She thought back to how easily it seemed other women around her became pregnant while she continued her "sport" without worry. She simply accepted it as her being infertile.

"It must have been hard for you living with ordinary humans. I've always found them to be a little dull. They're so confined by that single form."

"There not so bad. And just because they can't change their form doesn't mean they're boring. My best friend is a human male."

"Really! Isn't that interesting; being able to interact with human males in a non-sexual way. I didn't think it was possible."

It was Bulma's turn to look at Chi Chi oddly. Why in the world would she say something like that? "Say Chi Chi, what did you do before you were captured?"

"Ohh, a little of this and a little of that," she answered, while looking around innocently.

"Hmph. Whatever," she said before looking away. Bulma had a clue as to what Chi Chi's previous occupation may have been, but wasn't about to press the subject.

Suddenly, some sort of grit made itself known between her neck and the damned collar around her neck. Bulma tugged and twisted at it mercilessly trying to get it out, but didn't succeed at much more than continuously aggravating her already sore skin. She growled in frustration before throwing herself back down onto the bed'.

"That's not going to come off you know," Bulma heard Chi Chi say.

Bulma flipped over onto her stomach and glared sullenly at the girl behind her.

"And just how would you know?"

Chi Chi just laughed at her. "Because that's how Restraining Collars work, you fool. Only the person who cast the enchantment on it can remove it," she told her condescendingly.

Bulma wanted to smack the smug look off the girl's face, but the bars provided too much of an obstacle at this time. She counted until she had a better control of her temper; she needed to know more about this restraining collar'.

"Could you tell me what you know about it? Why do they put these things on us?" Bulma asked, straining to keep as pleasant a tone of voice as she could manage.

Chi Chi, not noticing this, answered her promptly. "I'm not sure really, but I figure that they do it to keep the one's bent on escape under control, such as yourself. You would have been out of here in less than a heartbeat if you hadn't been wearing it."

"I noticed that it not only keeps me from changing, but it somehow affects my mood. When I was taken, I remember being angry and preparing to strike, but then it all just drained away and I could barely recall what was going on," Bulma admitted.

"That sounds consistent. Tell me do your remember if whoever took you did something, made some kind of odd movement before your feelings changed?"

Bulma thought back to that night, sorting through the memories until she came to that part of the fight.

_"What are you talking about? Why are you doing this to me? I don't even know you!" She wailed knowing things had gone from bad to worse. She started yanking at the collar again, determined to remove it even if it meant removing her own head to get it off, if one were to account the amount of force she was using to pull on it._

_"Now please calm down. It wouldn't do at all if you were to harm yourself. The master would be most displeased to have to pass on a beauty such as yourself."_

_"WILL YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT??!!!" Bulma was to the point of hysterics she got to her feet and was ready to pound him to the ground like a tent peg. She advanced on him, fully intending to do just that._

_"Ah, ah, ah." Nomaro used two of his fingers on his right hand to grab a ring on his ring finger of his left._

_Bulma suddenly felt all the anger drain away and she stood before him docilely. For a moment, she forgot what she was angry about, but then it came back and she prepared to attack him again. This time she was going to shred him in her feline form. She tried to change...and found that she couldn't. She looked down at her hands and instead of paws and claws, she still saw slightly blunted fingers of her natural form covered with their usual aqua blue fur. She willed herself to change again and again, but failed every time._

_"What have you done to me?" She sank to the ground, defeated. Her first attack or defense was almost always involved her shape-shifting abilities. Now, having been stripped of them she became dumbfounded._

_"Do not worry. I have merely provided you with a little restraint. As long as you behave yourself, I will not coerce you further. However, one more outburst and you shall suffer the consequences with no explanation," Nomaro chided her._

"I remember him touching, or rather, holding his right hand," Bulma said, miming the actions she saw Nomaro making in her mind's eye. She held her left hand and then her right finger. "He touched something on his finger. A ring perhaps?"

Chi Chi nodded. "That's probably his control object, given to him by the one who put the enchantment on the collar in the first place."

"So all I need to do is get the ring away from him and I can get free?" Bulma asked excitedly, for the first time seeing something positive in this somewhat hopeless situation.

"It's not that simple. Even if you were able to get the ring that controls you, it won't remove the collar," Chi Chi said.

"Are you always so cheerful?" Bulma asked sarcastically. "I bet you were the one people always got to break the news of someone's death weren't you?"

Bulma turned back around to watch the progress of the little caravan she seemed to be a part of. It had now begun to turn left and she could now see the head of it. There were many wagons and a few more of the large gray beasts ahead of her. Also stretched out along intervals were men walking beside the wagons.

_Probably just guards'_, Bulma thought.

She sat in silence wondering how to get out of this situation, but could come up with nothing feasible. She came to the conclusion that she would just have to sit back and wait until they got to a place where she could make a break for it.

Shortly after the sun had passed its zenith, Bulma began to smell vegetation and peered out of her cage to see a break in the desolation. It began in the way of fields, where a few industrious souls toiled away. Then things grew a little denser in the way of a forest. This relieved Bulma in no small amount. She was used to being in the woodlands: after all it was where she grew up.

As the sun began to set, they were approaching a stone fortress. Bulma was overcome with nerves from worrying over what was about to come. She turned and looked at Chi Chi who looked as bored as ever.

"Chi Chi, do you know why we've been brought here?"

"Of course I do. Don't you?"

"No. I was kidnapped while I was out journeying and I guess I've slept until this morning. Nobody's explained anything to me about what's going on."

Chi Chi took a sharp intake of breath. "You really don't know why you've been captured, do you?"

"No I don't," Bulma answered irately, "will you please stop playing games and just tell me what's going on!"

Chi Chi looked for a moment as if she didn't want to say anything, but went against her better judgment and told her anyway. "You were taken to become a part of Lord Vegeta's harem."

"PART OF WHO'S WHAT!!!!"

"Lord Vegeta's harem. He's one of the many nobles to have left our land after the The Great War. Many would consider this to be a great honor to have been chosen, but you were kidnapped...," Chi Chi trailed off.

"I don't want to be a part of anybody's harem!" Bulma wailed.

"You don't have a choice, girl!" A gruff soldier stated as he pulled Bulma from her cage. They had stopped and Bulma hadn't noticed him come and open the door whose design was cleverly blended in with the cage.

"NO!!!!" Bulma struggled with all her might, but it was obvious she wasn't going to get away. The soldier was very strong and it was very clear that he was also Kylarian, for no ordinary human male would be able to hold Bulma down.

"LET ME GO!!!" She finally got lucky and threw an elbow in his stomach and broke free of his grasp, which was all she needed to dash away.

"NO BULMA!" She could hear Chi Chi yell behind her. She dashed low through the many horses and other pack beasts that seemed to fill the courtyard. She startled them all, hoping to cause enough confusion so she could escape. Bulma felt bad for leaving Chi Chi behind, but she had to see to herself first.

"STOP THAT WOMAN," someone else yelled behind her as she dipped between more animals and a few people, swatting a few to cause additional confusion and deftly avoiding everyone's grasp. She glanced briefly ahead and saw she was nearly to the gate. They had foolishly not closed it, though the entire caravan had entered. She could almost taste her regained freedom. She even had a brief thought of coming back to save Chi Chi; until again she was tackled from behind.

The ground, having been churned up from the many feet and hooves was muddy and Bulma and her assailant slid a few feet before stopping. She had mud all over her clothing, face and hair. She tried to get up, but was securely pinned down. The soldier ran up pulling up Bulma by the arm. She winced at the pain he caused when he twisted it, but didn't make a sound.

"I'm sorry, my lord. I didn't expect the female to try and escape," the soldier said subserviently.

"Yes, well, make sure it doesn't happen again or you shall be punished!" Said the most overbearing and snide voice Bulma had ever heard in her life. She used her free hand to begin clearing the mud from her face.

"Yes, my lord. I understand, my lord."

Bulma chose then to look up at the one who managed to catch her. She gasped in shock. THIS was Lord Vegeta? He looked hardly older than she was. They were pretty much of the same height and he had the oddest dark hair that stood up as if it were on fire and eyes the same color as his hair. He had a condescending look on his face that clearly showed exactly what he thought of her.

"Make sure this one is cleaned up well before presenting her to my father. He would be quite disgusted by such a slovenly hoyden."

"WHAT!!! I'll show you a slovenly hoyden!!!" Bulma twisted to get free of the one who held her, but his grip was sure as he was on his guard this time."

"This one has spirit. Father shall enjoy her in the bedchamber." And with that he walked off, almost as muddy as Bulma herself. Bulma growled deep in her throat in fury. How dare he insult her! She'd show him, just as soon as she got free.

"Let's go now! No more tricks!

Bulma let the man steer her back through the crowd where another man was holding Chi Chi. Her face had some small measure of sympathy for Bulma.

"I told you not to try it."


	6. Bulma's New Clothes

Bulma struggled half-heartedly as they pushed her inside one of the side doors into the fortress. Chi Chi walked along calmly, not making any effort at all to get away. They weren't even holding her!

"Chi Chi, you could have gotten away," she growled through clenched teeth, resenting every little shove she received and vowed retribution against them for their harsh treatment of her.

"I don't want to run away."

"But they're going to make you be some man's personal whore!" Bulma nearly shouted back at her.

"Well, I've been in worse situations than this. To tell you the truth this is an improvement over my previous life."

Bulma didn't have anything else to say when she saw the disturbed look on the dark-haired girl's face. It seemed she was remembering something that caused her distress in the not too distant past. She looked away from her to take in her surroundings, trying to get the lay of the place. She would just have to accept her captivity...for now. They took them down various twisting and turning halls until they entered what looked like a wash room. The room was filled with huge tubs and some rather solid looking women. The soldier pulled Bulma up to the biggest one of all.

"Mavree, Lord Vegeta will want these women cleaned and presentable before the evening meal."

The large, bull-like woman looked Bulma up and down with contempt, "Could you not have just taken them to the harem's bathing rooms? This is the laundry room, not a bathing area."

"I know, but we just arrived with this group and we don't want to take any chances with any of them trying to escape," he answered, obviously referring to Bulma.

"Hmph, well...I don't want his lordship displeased... bring them in. Take each girl to a different tub. We have more than enough to accommodate them." She turned to face the other women in the room. "LISTEN UP, LADIES! DUMP YOUR WASH. WE HAVE SOMETHING ELSE TO TAKE CARE OF. MAKE SURE THESE GIRLS ARE CLEANED UP FIRST RATE OR WE'LL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE WRATH OF HIS LORDSHIP." The other women listened to her without a murmur and promptly dumped their tubs and began refilling them with fresh hot water.

"I need you to take care of this one personally, Mavree. She almost made it out the gates before she was taken down by the young master."

"Don't worry. I can handle her. She's no bigger than a minute."

Bulma could certainly agree with that. She felt like a lap dog standing next to an ox. The soldier handed her over to the woman and retreated. For the first time, Bulma noticed there were five other girls other than Chi Chi and herself. They were behaving even more docilely than Chi Chi had. Their fear was more tangible than Chi Chi's, so she imagined they would be stupid enough to be cooperative.

"Alright, girl, strip down," the large woman demanded.

Bulma looked at her as if she were crazy. She wasn't going to disrobe in front of strangers and definitely not for the purpose of being made presentable before entering some man's bed.

"I will not."

"Look," Mavree said placing her hands on her hips, "we can do this the hard way or the easy way." The hard look on her face was what finally convinced Bulma to disrobe. Another woman had already came to dump and refill the tub. Mavree gestured at Bulma to get in. She climbed over the edge entering the steaming, hot water gingerly. No sooner had she sat down than the big woman took a bar of harsh lye soap and scrubbed at Bulma relentlessly. Bulma refused to make a sound, she merely clung to the sides of the tub to keep herself form being thrown about.

"Good gracious! How did you ever manage to get covered by so much muck?"

"If your dear _Lord'_ _Vegeta_ hadn't knocked me into the mud I assure you that I would be a great deal cleaner than this."

"Girl, you need to watch your mouth and show some respect for his lordship! It is from him that all good things come! If it weren't for him, many of us would have been trapped in the homeland when The Great War occurred. Most of us probably would have died."

"Died? From what?" Bulma asked, her curiosity now peaked.

"Do you know nothing? Though you are too young to have known the homeland, surely your parents or other family members explained what happened?"

"No, there was no one," Bulma said through gritted teeth as Mavree scrubbed particularly hard. "I was raised by ordinary humans. I know nothing of our kind."

Mavree stopped scrubbing Bulma, clearly in shock. "You...you poor child; it's sad to know nothing of your people."

"I've been trying to find out, though. That's how I was captured in the first place. I was traveling through various towns trying to learn what I may and a man named Nomaro attacked me, knocked me out, and the next thing I know, I wake up on the back of some huge, gray creature inside of a cage, on my way here!"

Mavree chuckled at Bulma's outrage as she drained the dirty water from the tub. She took a bucket of water she had sitting next to the tub and doused Bulma with it. The effect was rather similar to that of any half drowned animal.

"That creature' whose back you rode upon is called an elephant. We brought them here with us from our land. They normally live in much warmer conditions than the climate we have here, but they have adapted."

Bulma was sure to file that piece of information away for future use. Surely if she had changed into such a creature she would have crushed Nesbit rather than briefly stunning him. Mavree handed Bulma a drying cloth and helped her climb out of the tub. Bulma saw that the other girls had already emerged from their tubs, but then, they hadn't been covered in mud. After Bulma joined the rest of them at the doorway, she felt a heavy hand come down on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, child. Our master is a good one and he will not treat you harshly, unless you behave in such ways that merit punishment."

That was the last Bulma saw of Mavree for a long time. All seven girls were led away down more twisting corridors. Bulma could tell that they were going deeper into the fortress. They soon came to a pair of goldenoak doors guarded by two giant men. The doors were beautifully carved and as they were opened, Bulma could see that they were well over a foot thick, which was probably why the two men outside of them were so enormous. What lay beyond the doors was more than Bulma had ever imagined. The huge room was sumptuously decorated in silk. EVERYTHING was covered with it: pillows, chairs, ceilings, walls, women...WOMEN!!!

The room was full of women scantily clad women. The lounged about in groups or sat alone reading, playing music or attempting to enhance their beauty. Every light, dark, and red head turned to look at the newcomers. Some had curiosity in their eyes, while others looked on with hatred, or just plain indifference. Bulma, never having been one to be cowed by anyone, raised her chin up a good three inches, silently saying that everyone here was beneath her.

The girls were all led through the room pass the others and into another room off to the side of the main one. This appeared to be nothing more than a large closet. Clothing hung all around the room and on racks through the center of the room. There were now two other women here seated at desks and these two were a great deal older than the others they had seen thus far. The girls were all stood in line facing the women. The elder of the two got up and approached them.

"A new crop in, eh?" she said to no one in particular.

"Yes, ma'am. Only just arrived this rising."

The elder woman walked up and down the line, examining each of them briefly. When she got to Bulma, she seemed to be examining overly long, but she soon continued onto the next girl. After her first pass, she turned for her second pass, but instead of continuing on, she stood in front of the girl three down from Bulma. The girl was slightly taller than Bulma with tawny blond hair and, oddly enough, golden eyes.

The woman clapped her hands and 10 other young women appeared from nowhere. They stood and waited in complete silence for further instructions. "Elpha!" The other woman stepped forward from her desk, so obviously this was Elpha. "Bring something in brown, preferably in gold studded with diamonds." The other woman rushed off and returned a lot sooner than Bulma thought possible. She handed the outfit to one of the 10 girls who had just entered. She and another separated from the group and beckoned to the tawny haired girl to follow. She went off with them through a doorway Bulma hadn't noticed before. This was obviously where the 10 girls had entered. After she had gone, the old woman moved onto the next who just happened to be Chi Chi.

"Too simple. Elpha! A sapphire blue." Again the woman went scurrying away and only seconds later returned for the requested item. It was handed to another of the eight remaining and the process repeated itself. Next came a brown-eyed, brown-haired girl, for whom a vibrant orange was chosen. Then it was Bulma's turn. Again the woman stared at Bulma for a long time. She lifted a piece a Bulma's hair and rubbed it between her fingers, feeling its softness Bulma supposed. She stared a Bulma a few moments longer.

"I haven't seen hair this shade in quite some time."

Bulma didn't respond. She just stared back.

"Elpha, I believe we have something suitable." She didn't even specify a color, but Elpha ran off and came back with something that was obviously the exact same color as Bulma's hair. Bulma followed the two women out of the room, but not before stopping to look back at the old woman. To her surprise, the old woman was looking back at her.

"You will do well, I think." Was all she said with a small smile. She turned back to the other girls and Bulma turned to go out the door that was being open for her.

On the other side door was another bathing room, this one a great deal more luxurious than where they had received their first bath. The room was made from marble. There were marble columns and benches and the whole bathing room was a large sunken-in marble pool. The steam in the room was so thick that you could barely make out other people in there.

"Come, miss, and we shall prepare you," said the smaller of the two. She was little on the pale side, with wide blue eyes and lank, black hair. She let them lead her to a place where she could enter the pool without being crowded by others. They tried to remove her clothing, but she smacked their hands away, stating that she was more than capable of bathing herself. They wash her hair exclaiming over its softness. They toweled her dry and brushed her hair until it too was dry and gently curling. They massaged her and perfumed her. They were finally ready to dress her in he clothing that was chosen for her. When Bulma got a good look at it, she balked.

"I'm not wearing that! You can see right through it!

"But you must wear it! Mistress Loala will be displeased if you do not," said the taller one. She also had the same lanky, dark hair and blue eyes. They were clearly sisters.

"I don't care if Mistress Loala will be displeased'! You need to bring me some proper clothing!"

"If you do not wear it then we shall be punished," said the smaller sister, her eyes downcast.

"Mia! It was not your place to tell her that!" scolded the older sister.

Bulma felt bad. Even though she didn't want to be here, she didn't feel it was right to punish those who were not directly responsible for her captivity.

"Fine. There's got to be something we can do to make everything not so...visible."

"It's not so bad, miss, really. There are under things that will cover everything that's important, but are easily removable if his lordship wishes it," both sisters giggled behind their hands.

"Whatever. Let's just hurry up and get this over with." They finished dressing her in no time. Another girl showed up just as they were putting the finishing touches on Bulma.

"The master wants to see them now," she said and then ran off to the next group.

"You're ready, and if I say so myself, you look very beautiful, miss," said the older sister, while the littler one nodded her head emphatically.

Bulma looked at herself in a nearby mirror, nearly not recognizing herself. Never had she put so much care into her appearance and she definitely had never worn any sort of cosmetics. The aqua-haired beauty that looked back at her looked fit to be a princess, or in this case, someone's well pampered whore.

"Come, miss, we'll show you where to go."

She followed them to another set of doors. These a great deal smaller and less ornate. She was met at the door by the other new girls who were similarly elegantly coifed and perfumed. The door was opened from the other side and they walked single file into the room on the other side. It was dark, cool room. The only light came from the torches spaced at equal intervals along the walls. At the far end of the room was a dais, upon which one large man sat and another smaller one stood to off to the side of the one who sat.

One of the guards whom Bulma was already vaguely acquainted with led them to the front of the room to again be lined up for inspection. It was then that Bulma recognized the smaller man standing to the side of the larger one. HE was Lord Vegeta's son! She let out a gasp of surprise before she could stop herself. His ears picked up the sound easily and he knew where the sound came from. He casually walked down the steps to Bulma.

"So, we meet again."


End file.
